Voith Turbo supplying transmissions for Pittsburgh buses

Voith Turbo will ship bus transmissions to be used in clean diesel buses operating in and around Pittsburgh. - (Photo / Submitted)

A York County-based manufacturing facility will deliver bus transmissions that will be used by the Port Authority of Allegheny County.

Voith Turbo, which has a facility in Manchester Township, will ship 60 DIWA.5 transmissions to bus manufacturer Gillig LLC of Hayward, Calif., later this summer. The mechanisms will be used in clean diesel buses operating in and around Pittsburgh, according to a news release from Voith.

The company said its transmission allows for smooth gear shifts, reducing wear and tear and increasing driving comfort in city transit buses. The overdrive fourth gear optimizes fuel-friendly engine speeds in city traffic.

“The transmissions are not manufactured here; they are manufactured in Germany,” said Erika Winemiller, Voith Turbo’s regional marketing coordinator based in York. “We do, however, have a service program, where we rebuild and repair the transmissions.”

At least 325 port authority buses use a DIWA transmission, Joe Dalik, regional sales manager for Voith Turbo, said in the release.

“DIWA transmissions were developed specifically for transit bus applications and they have proven themselves as a long wearing fuel efficient option for the market,” he said.

Final delivery of the buses to Pittsburgh will be made near the end of the year. The port authority runs about 700 buses, which serve more than 175,000 customers on an average weekday.

Voith Turbo, a group division of Voith GmbH, specializes in drive solutions and systems. The parent company also owns Voith Hydro in West Manchester Township. Founded in 1867, Voith employs more than 43,000 people, generates $7.7 billion in sales, operates in about 50 countries around the world and is one of the largest family-owned companies in Europe.